plant health an update from the front line€¦ · plant health –an update from the front line...
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Plant Health – an update from the front line
Landscape Institute, Healthy Plants, Healthy Places: Embedding biosecurity in landscape projects
RBG Kew14th June 2019
Helen Long
Senior Plant Health & Seeds Inspector
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Overview
• Examples of recent major outbreaks
• The costs and consequences of getting it wrong
• Recent Government initiatives & sources of information
• Legislation versus the inspection reality
• Some current threats on the horizon – yes, do have nightmares!
• How industry can help with good practice and biosecurity2
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Some recent examples of major outbreaks….
Images courtesy of Forestry Commission 3
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The real cost of a major outbreak
• Oak Processionary Moth
• Egg masses imported in 2006 on semi-mature Oaks used to landscape a housing scheme
• Now established in Greater London and surrounding counties
• Major defoliation damage on a range of Oak species
• Human and animal health impacts including respiratory problems
• Local authorities, public attractions and parks engaged in costly annual spray control programmes
• Annual Operational budget £1.2M+ Ongoing indefinitely
Images courtesy of Forest Research 4
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The real cost of a major outbreak
• Asian Longhorn Beetle adult found in 2009 at a stone importer in Kent
• Follow up surveys conducted for several years with small outbreak found in 2012
• Sanitary felling and disposal of 2166 host trees / plants
• Restrictions on replanting of host species
• Intensive follow up surveillance activity for 7 years to confirm outbreak eradicated, including APHA & FC Inspectors, contracted tree climbers and tree surgeons
• Total cost of outbreak £2MHost clearance Paddock Wood outbreak 5
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The Guardian 6th May 2019 The Telegraph 19th Nov 20166
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What are the consequences of Xylella?
• Value that could (in theory) be damaged by Xylella:
- Around £500m per year quantifiable (£160m Sycamore trees, £320m Oak trees, £25m Prunus sp.) Many other potential hosts not included in this estimate
- 7% of this £500m per year is susceptible to Xylella if the outbreak is either small scale or wide scale with a timely response (~£30m/year is protectable)
- Only 1% of this £500m per year is protectable if the outbreak is wide scale with containment or delayed response (~£5m/year is protectable
(Source Defra Plant Health Economist)
• An single infected plant outbreak could lead to ‘host’ destruction within 100m, and a 5km-wide zone banning all specified plant movements for five years.
• Currently 60+ genera/species listed as EU host plants; 300+ listed as specified plants worldwide
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What are the consequences of Xylella?
• Plant movement and waste disposal restrictions will apply to all premises in demarcated areas including nurseries, retailers, parks, residential gardens, historic properties, shows, events…?
• Restrictions will remain in force for a minimum of 5 years after official surveys have confirmed that X. fastidiosa is not present.
• Restrictions on replanting of host plants in infected areas – what’s not on the list?
• New hosts would be added to plant passporting, some could be prohibited from import
• Implications for UK exports of becoming an ‘infected country’ – increased testing and certification costs for exports, prohibitions on some trades
• All ‘professional operators’ i.e. landscapers, designers, and anyone importing plants into the UK are now subject to the same stringent conditions as growers
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Are you worried yet?
There are 47 other known tree pests and diseases that could arrive in Britain and which may cost an additional £1 billion or more
• Benefits of trees and plants is valued in the millions of £’s
• Most benefits provided by plants/trees are derived from e.g. social well being, water & air purification and carbon sequestration
• Additional risk associated with food security as some plant pests endanger food crops
• Early intervention, if successful, has significant positive cost/benefits
Emerald Ash Borer; Pine Processionary Moth. Bronze Birch Borer 9
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Recent Government Initiatives
• EU Plant & Tree Notification scheme – requires notification of first arrival into UK of all:
• Castanea (Chestnut Blight, Oriental Chestnut Gall Wasp)
• Fraxinus (*no movement as no UK Ash dieback disease free areas)
• Quercus (Oak Processionary Moth, Chestnut Blight, Oak Lace Bug)
• Olea since Nov 2018 (Xylella)
• Pinus (Pine Processionary Moth, Pine Wood nematode, Red & Brown needle blights)
• Platanus (Plane Wilt)
• Prunus (Xylella, Red-necked longhorn, Xanthomonas arboricola pruni)
• Ulmus (Elm Yellows Phytoplasma, Elm Zig Zag sawfly, Oak Lace Bug)
• Notifications selected for physical inspections will continue after EU-Exit
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Legislation versus the inspection reality….
Rootballed dormant trees from the EU laid out for inspection 4-5m Quercus ilex imported from Italy 11
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Legislation versus the inspection reality….
• Semi mature trees are imported dormant = out of main season for symptom expression for most pests and diseases, latency periods vary
• Physical size and weight of specimens = access and health & safety issues, affects quality of inspection possible on site
• Impossible to inspect all imported consignments = risk based selection criteria applied
• Rapid speed of trade movements = resource intensive and time consuming to trace
• Distribution chain is non-linear = one consignment, multiple recipients across the UK
• The bigger the plant specified, the bigger the ecosystem that travels with it e.g. nematodes; termites; flatworms; poisonous spiders, scorpions and millipedes; tree frogs….
• Packing material, pallets and wooden bracing can also pose a risk of hitch hikers – think longhorn beetles, Asian Hornet, Pine Wood nematode, non native species
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Sources of Information
• UK Plant Health Portal – latest info and pest factsheets
• https://planthealthportal.defra.gov.uk/
• UK Plant Risk Register – more than 1000 pests and diseases risk assessed with country distributions
• https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/phiw/riskRegister/
• APHA Topical Issues pages https://www.gov.uk/guidance/protecting-plant-health-topical-issues
• Forestry Commission Pest & Disease resources:
• https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/tools-and-resources/pest-and-disease-resources/
• Observatree – pest field identification guides, webinars, top 21 priority P&D for citizen science https://www.observatree.org.uk/
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Sources of informationSearch for ‘UK Plant Health Portal’ https://planthealthportal.defra.gov.uk/
filter by host/pest
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Sources of information• APHA Topical web pages on gov.uk
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/animal-and-plant-health-agency
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Current threats on the horizon: Xylella fastidiosa
• Check the EU commission website for the latest maps of the outbreak demarcated areas updated 10th April 2019
• https://ec.europa.eu/food/sites/food/files/plant/docs/ph_biosec_legis_list-demarcated-union-territory_en.pdf
• Current outbreaks:
– Italy (Apulia and NEW Tuscany)
• France (Cote’s d’Azure, Corsica)
• Spain (Valencia and Madrid), all Balearic Islands
• NEW Portugal (Norte)
• KNOW THE HIGH RISK SPECIES – can you substitute?
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Current threats on the horizon: Xylella fastidiosa
• Scale of demarcated area in Spain Valencia is 80,000 Ha, with all the implicit official controls in place
• Recent Interceptions:
- Intercepted on olive plants in Belgium autumn 2018
- Intercepted in a growing crop of Polygala in Almeria, Spain in Spring 2018
• EFSA opinion highlights concerns that Xfsits within olive for long periods asymptomatic. Latency is years rather than months.
Polygala myrtifolia infected with Xylella – chlorosis symptoms only
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Current threats on the horizon: Granulate ambrosia beetle
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Xylosandrus crassiusculus
• Very small (2-3 mm) beetle that is a pest of many broadleaved trees. Introduced to Italy in 2003 and has now spread to France.
• Attack usually kills younger trees, prior to or during leafing up
• Infestation leads to distinctive toothpick strands of frass
• Pest Alert released Nov 2015 asking for signs of the pest to be reported
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Current threats on the horizon: Oak Lace Bug
• Corythucha arcuata
• First found in Italy in 2000, now in 11 EU countries and spreading
• Attacks Quercus and other broadleaved trees including Acer, Carpinus, Fagus, Tilia, Ulmus
• Symptoms: yellowing and browning of foliage then premature leaf drop, reduced vigour
• Pathway is imported trees – check undersides of leaves for nymphs and adults
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Current threats on the horizon: Red Necked Longhorn Beetle
• Aromia bungii
• Wood boring pest of Prunus (apricot, peach, plum, cherry inc P. cerasifera)
• Outbreaks under eradication in Germany and Italy. Widespread outbreak around Naples area, Italy.
• Pathway: imported trees. Adults may also hitchhike on wood pallets and packaging
• Long larval life cycle up to 3 years
• Larvae push out copious frass on top of pots or soil
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How the industry can help with good practice
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• For contractors/designers, ensure that plants you use have been ordered early and monitored for disease in a low risk area, before being planted at their final destination
• When purchasing from other EU member states or 3rd countries, think about quarantine pest presence – Defra risk register can help.
• Do you really need a very high risk species (e.g. mature Olives!) or can you specify a lower risk alternative? Educate yourself and your clients about the risks
• Source from known suppliers and/or visit suppliers to view their processes, procedures, bio-security arrangements and the plants they grow.
• Ask! Are plants coming direct from your chosen supplier or being topped up from a third party grower? Trade will always find a way to meet an order if they don’t have the stock themselves.
• Make sure that imported plants both originate from and are sourced from disease free areas. Details on infected areas for a range of outbreaks on EU Commission web pages at http://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/plant_health_biosecurity/legislation/emergency_measures/index_en.htm
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How the industry can help with good practice
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• When buying / planning contracts in advance, build in plant health to your quality standards and auditprocesses.
• Build monitoring for pest and disease into maintenance contracts after planting – consider length of pest lifecycle & disease latency.
• Comply with the UK national requirements to notify the UK Plant Health Service about certain species of plants under the ‘EU Plant and Tree Notification Scheme’.
• Complete the plant healthy self assessment which set out key questions for trade to answer (20 or so) to self-asses their biosecurity https://hta.org.uk/assurance-compliance/plant-healthy.html
• Use the assessment to join the Plant Health Assurance Scheme that Defra seed funded last year with HTA https://hta.org.uk/assurance-compliance/plant-health-assurance-scheme.html to develop and improve your biosecurity. Industry lead scheme (supported by Defra and APHA) and looks to all in procurement to ask for in future.
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How the industry can help with good practice
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• Ensure that plant passports arriving with plants are correct and keep the plant passport to aid trace back if necessary.
• Label and keep records of the identity of all received batches of plants including: where the plants came from and when
• Isolate or quarantine new batches of plants and monitor them during the growing season for signs of the disease – whilst not a legal requirement it is good practice to place ‘imported’ hosts of Xylella in a quarantine area – ideally a good distance away from other host plants and if possible place under physical protection. If any outbreak is confirmed all ‘host’ material within 100m will need to be destroyed.
• Stock control and separation; internal plant movements between sites.
• Incorporate plant health into in house training and skills with QA/QC systems and agronomists. Have a ‘what to do if….’ and ‘who to contact if….’
• Raise P&D alerts at your internal team briefings – retail level, buyers, QA/QC, maintenance crews.
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How the industry can help with good practice
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• Have a set feed back route for staff queries or suspect problems and include details of the ‘goods’: label, plant passport or batch details, genera, pot size, bar code, ‘returns’ and trace back etc.
• Seasonality and don’t let quarantine pests and disease ‘drop off the radar’, as plants move from warmer countries or protected environments to cooler countries for retail or growing on.
• Destroy old or unusable plants – methods you use?
• Maintain records of any pesticide treatments
• Attend events such as this to raise awareness of the risks
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Bio-security
• Before arrival
SOURCING PLANTS – Suppliers (visit them),
Origin, Plant type, Assurance schemes,
Check supplier/country plant health status
• At arrival
QUARANTINE – inspection on arrival/ QC,
holding period, traps
• On site
MANAGEMENT - Plant culture, hygiene,
water, waste, self monitoring, recording, training
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Thank you!